MEANWHILE, IN TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA, WIND GUSTS REACHED UP
TO 90 MILES AN HOUR TODAY.
90.
90. THE MAYOR OF TALLAHASSEE, ANDREW
GILLUM JOINS US BY PHONE, HE’S
ALSO THE DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE IN
FLORIDA’S GUBERNATORIAL RACE
RIGHT NOW.
RIGHT NOW. TELL US WHAT’S GOING ON IN YOUR
CAPITAL CITY IN TALLAHASSEE, BUT
ALSO TO THE WEST OF YOU.
WHAT REPORTS HAVE YOU BEEN
GETTING, SIR?
GETTING, SIR? >> CHRIS, THANK YOU SO MUCH.
AGAIN ALL OF OUR HEARTS GO OUT
TO THOSE WEST OF TALLAHASSEE WHO
BORE THE BRUNT OF THE STORM
SURGE THAT CAME ASHORE.
WE’VE SEEN THE DISTURBING
CATASTROPHIC IMAGES OF THE STORM
SURGE JUST RUSHING THROUGH
MEXICO BEACH.
MEXICO BEACH. WE’RE HERE TO BE THEIR
NEIGHBORS.
NEIGHBORS. WE, IN FACT, TOOK IN A NUMBER OF
FOLKS WHO EVACUATED AND CAME TO
OUR AREA TO WAIT OUT THE STORM.
MY COMMUNITY, IT WAS A DIFFERENT
NATURE, IT WAS ONE OF WIND.
AS I TALK TO YOU, I’M IN A
UTILITY VEHICLE MOVING AROUND MY
CITY AS WE OBSERVE STREET AFTER
STREET, ROAD AFTER ROAD WITH
HUGE TREES STREWN ACROSS IT,
UTILITY POLES THAT ARE DOWN.
WE COULD HAVE HAD IT MUCH WORSE
IN THE AREA, CONSIDERING WE HAVE
AN AREA THAT’S ABOUT 50% TREE
COVERAGE HERE.
COVERAGE HERE. ABOUT 30 MINUTES AGO WE RELEASED
OUR EMS, FIRE AND POLICE, ALONG
WITH THE UTILITY TO GET BACK ON
THE STREET.
THE STREET. THE UTILITY WORKERS ARE TAKING
ASSESSMENT AND STOCK OF THE
DAMAGE.
DAMAGE. AND STARTING AT ABOUT 6:00 A.M.
TOMORROW MORNING THEY’RE START
WITH THE RESTORATION PROCESS TO
GET OUR COMMUNITY BACK UP AND
GOING.
GOING. >> LET ME TALK TO YOU ABOUT THE
POLITICS OF CLIMATE -- I KNOW
YOU’RE RUNNING FOR GOVERNOR.
I THINK ABOUT THE WATER LEVEL
COMING UP WITHIN A FEW FEET OF
MIAMI, HOW YOUR STATE IS IN
DANGER BY CLIMATE CHANGE.
IS THIS REGULAR WEATHER WE’RE
GETTING NOW?
GETTING NOW? CATEGORY 4?
CATEGORY 4? YOUR THOUGHTS?
YOUR THOUGHTS? >> NO.
>> NO. LISTEN, IT’S STUFF I’VE BEEN
ASKED, WITH THE PANHANDLE CAUGHT
BY SURPRISE HERE.
SUNDAY I WAS IN MIAMI, I WAS
GOING FROM AN EVENT ON ANOTHER
MISSION, AS YOU MENTIONED IN MY
INTRODUCTION, WE GOT A CALL
LOOK, THIS TROPICAL SYSTEM LOOKS
LIKE IT’S HEADING OUR WAY.
WE THOUGHT WE MIGHT DEAL WITH A
TROPICAL STORM AND TROPICAL
STORM FORCE WINDS.
IT WENT FROM THAT SUNDAY NIGHT
TO A NEAR CATEGORY 5 STORM
TODAY.
TODAY. THAT WAS SIGNIFICANT.
AND OBVIOUSLY THAT HAS TO DO
WITH THE WARM -- THE WARMTH OF
THE GULF WATERS AT THIS TIME.
AND THAT STORM WAS ABLE TO GAIN
TREMENDOUS STRENGTH AND HIT OUR
STATE AT 150 MILES PER HOUR IN
THE PANHANDLE, 7 MILES PER HOUR
BELOW WHAT WOULD NECESSITATE A
CATEGORY 5 STORM.
FOR ALL INTENTS AND PURPLEOSES,
ADDING IN THE WIND GUSTS YOU’RE
DEALING WITH A CATEGORY 5
HURRICANE HITTING IN OCTOBER.
WE HAVE OBVIOUSLY A CHALLENGE ON
THAT END, AND I’LL TELL YOU, WE
GOT SOME WORK TO DO TO BUILD US
A MORE RESILIENT STATE.
THE TRUTH IS RIGHT NOW WE HAVE
TO TRY TO MAKE SURE WE RECOVER
AS MANY PEOPLE AND GET AS MUCH
OF OUR COMMUNITY BACK UP AND
GOING AS WE POSSIBLY CAN.
I FEAR THIS IS GOING TO BE A
LONG JOURNEY.
LONG JOURNEY. >> YOU KNOW YOU’RE ON
"HARDBALL," WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF
YOUR OPPONENT OUT THERE RUNNING
AGAINST YOU AS REPUBLICAN,
RUNNING NEGATIVE ADS TRASHING
YOU IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS, WHAT
DO YOU MAKE OF THIS?
>> I AGREE WITH CRAIG FUGATE,
WITH JEB BUSH, WITH GOVERNOR
RICK SCOTT IN THIS CASE, SAID IT
IS UNSEEMLY TO RUN THOSE KIND OF
ADS.
ADS. I WAS INFORMING THE PUBLIC HERE
IN NORTH FLORIDA ABOUT THE STORM
THIS MORNING AS WE WERE
ANTICIPATING IMPACT AND IN MY
EAR I COULD HEAR A NEGATIVE AD
BEING RUN ABOUT HURRICANE
RESPONSE.
RESPONSE. I JUST THOUGHT WE’VE HAD A LOT
OF DIVISIVE POLITICS IN OUR
STATE BUT I CAN’T REMEMBER A
TIME WE DIDN’T HAVE A TIME WHEN
STATEWIDE CANDIDATES PULLED DOWN
NEGATIVE CAMPAIGNS, PARTICULARLY
IN PARTS OF THE STATES WHERE
PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO RUN FOR